Abstract
BackgroundCare services in industrialized nations are increasingly moving towards individualized funding models, which aim to increase individuals’ flexibility, choice and control over their services and supports. Recent research suggests that such schemes have the potential to exacerbate inequalities, however none has explored gendered dimensions of inequality. The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a major individualized funding reform, and has a female participation rate of only 37%, despite women and girls making up half of the disability population.MethodsThe objective of the study is to explore possible gendered barriers to applying for and receiving adequate support through the NDIS, and to suggest directions for future research. We report on semi-structured interviews with 30 women with disability and explore their experiences with the NDIS and their perspectives on challenges associated with being a woman seeking disability support in Australia. We analyse the results using thematic analysis.ResultsMost women in our sample reported differences between the experiences of men and women seeking disability support in Australia. Commonly reported gendered barriers to women being able to access the right supports for their disability involve a) confidence, negotiation and self-advocacy, b) gendered discrimination in diagnosis and the medical system, which has implications for disability support access, and c) support for and recognition of caring roles.ConclusionsThese results suggest that women are not receiving equitable treatment with regard to the NDIS, and that further research and policy reform are needed to ensure that women with disability are not further disadvantaged as a result of the move toward individualized funding models.
Highlights
Disability and aged care services in industrialized nations are increasingly moving towards individualized and personalized funding models, which aim to increaseYates et al Int J Equity Health (2021) 20:243 whether individualized approaches have consistently created improved outcomes in people’s lives is still very much a matter of debate [5, 6]
We interviewed 30 women with disability about their decision to apply for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support, their experiences with the scheme if they were NDIS participants, and whether they felt there were any differences between men and women seeking disability support in Australia
Having identified some ways in which women and girls could be disadvantaged through individualized funding schemes, we describe the methods of the present study
Summary
Disability and aged care services in industrialized nations are increasingly moving towards individualized and personalized funding models, which aim to increaseYates et al Int J Equity Health (2021) 20:243 whether individualized approaches have consistently created improved outcomes in people’s lives is still very much a matter of debate [5, 6]. Under the NDIS, approximately 500,000 individuals who have a significant and permanent disability will receive personalized funding budgets (just under 10% of Australia’s 4.4 million people with disability) [22, 23] From these budgets they purchase services and supports that meet their needs – with the aim of giving greater choice and control [22, 23]. Disability and individualized funding schemes In this article, we define gender as a series of processes and institutions that distribute power differentially according to a person’s social assignment to the predominant category of male or female [27] This means that we see gender inequality and the processes that create it as products of socially reproduced oppression rather than innate or essential differences between men and women
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